In the processing of carcasses, particularly poultry carcasses, one processing operation involves removing various internal organs from, i.e., eviscerating, the carcass. In a poultry carcass, these internal organs may include, for example, the white gut, the proventriculus, the viscera parts, the gizzard, and the connection to the crop. Typically, this is accomplished by entering the carcass through a rear opening, clamping the esophagus between the crop and internal organs, and pulling the esophagus and internal organs out of the carcass via the rear opening such that the esophagus separates due to the strain, i.e., is pulled apart, into two distinct parts, with one part remaining within the carcass. Unfortunately, this can produce unpredictable results.
The crop is an enlargement of the esophagus which holds recently eaten food for subsequent slow release into the digestive system. Ideally, the aforementioned internal organs are removed via the rear opening while the crop remains intact within the carcass so that it can be subsequently removed in a more sanitary manner through the neck by a different machine which is sometimes referred to as a “cropper”. It is also acceptable if the intact crop is removed with the esophagus.
It sometimes happens, however, that the strain of pulling the esophagus apart results in the crop being pulled apart as well, thereby spilling its contents into and contaminating the carcass. Using prior art machinery, it is roughly estimated that approximately between 20% and 50% of crops are pulled apart, which can lead to various problems. One such problem is that the “cropper” machine, being designed to engage and remove intact crops, can experience difficulty engaging and removing broken crops. Another such problem is that the release of bacteria and partially digested food from the broken crops can significantly increase the microbial loading of the carcasses. If inspectors find too many broken crops, or if microbial testing reveals microbial loads that are too high, the processing line may be slowed or stopped to address the problem. It will be appreciated that such delays and interruptions can be costly.